A key aspect of the Impact Initiative’s work is to ensure that research reaches the right people to help inform decision making. In a strand of our work that we call “legacy services”, we identify outputs - including reports, papers and briefings - and publish them in an open access repository. Kelly Shephard (IDS) explains the benefits of storing documents in an open access repository.

Traditional and cultural expectations, low economic status or lack of access to healthcare and education are persistent and major barriers for women and girls. These barriers remind us that we need to change the structures and policies that continue to hold women back. With this as the backdrop, the Impact Initiative is launching its campaign #Policies4 Improving Life Choices for Women, proposing policy ideas and innovations that could empower women. The campaign will highlight the evidence and research funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research and the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme that should inform decision making and interventions.

Kelly Shephard, Head of Knowledge, Impact and Policy at IDS, presents a new series of impact stories, produced by the ESRC-DFID Impact Initiative, which examine a range of challenges that occurred during the research process, the different approaches taken, and how barriers in achieving impact were overcome. Ultimately, the stories demonstrate how research funded through the ESRC-DFID Strategic Partnership is improving the lives of people around the world in positive ways.